chronostarsfandomcom-20200214-history
Human
When the tumorians first made contact with the various races of Raljikka, many balked at the colonists' damage to native cultures and customs, but the humans of Wargäreim embraced the foreigners' understanding of magic and made it their own. They forsook their shamanistic heritages to seek deeper understandings of what came to be known as arcane and divine magic. With their old ways now so distantly in the past, the humans' grand academies of magic and meticulous records of sorcerous bloodlines have become the face of all humanity, even those that desperately seek to resurrect the dead traditions. Etymology and Other Names Human is translated from the Alamin term for the race, mannjakko, literally meaning "west-person" in reference to their homeland, Wargäreim, being located west of the traditional homeland of the rakkos, Streeg. As other languages do not have the same geographic history with humans, they tend to instead focus on Wargäreim as the humans' racial identity, much as they did with the sabarian race and their homeland of Sabaria. Biology Long have the humans found themselves compared to their neighbors -- not as large as a rakko or a suljakko, but several heads taller than a sabarian. They have short, rounded ears on the sides of their heads and blunted teeth that might mark them as ill-suited for the wilds; magic came naturally to them ages before they even had labels for the spells they could cast. Their flat and flexible tongues make incantations roll naturally, and their dextrous, nimble fingers allow them to simplify somatic components of even complicated spells. From their equatorial homeland, humans have dark skin that makes them resistant to sunburns. Their palms tend to be lighter in color than the rest of their body, said to be from generations of magic burning away the pigment in their skin. They often have dark hair and eyes as well; black and brown are the most common hair colors, and the deep auburn eyes of a stereotypical human are often so expected that lighter colors may take others by surprise. Compared to shape-shifters, an off-shoot race, humans have wider eyes and often more rounded facial features. Because humans' bodily hair tends to be so fine, birth marks or other skin markings are obvious if not covered by clothing. The human body is resilient and heals quickly, not to mention naturally persistent. Many other races in Ealdremen cannot claim that their broken bones will be ultimately stronger for the damage they suffered. Their bodies tend to not be especially sensitive to pain, allowing humans to pursue painful cosmetic alterations to their body that they simply become numb to. Humans can press on even where many others would be worn out and exhausted. Sociology Formal education is often at the forefront of most human societies. Specialized schools exist for virtually any subject imaginable, but especially any subject within arcane magic, which has dominated the human subconscious for hundreds of years. Young magic-users, if not already "sorted" into an arcane school by virtue of a bloodline or other natural inclination towards such magic, are encouraged to dedicate themselves to a school before delving too deeply into magic. Depth of knowledge is emphasized over breadth; generalized education is associated with the lowest rungs of learning meant for children. School systems tend to breed natural competition between not only students and students, but students and their professors. In many human-created schools, professors are deliberately kept within an "achievable" range of proficiency of the students they teach, as it encourages students to surpass their professors and prove they are ready to move forward. Only the most dedicated to the craft will be granted the privilege of learning from their discipline's masters. Although some caution is always encouraged, especially when learning the fundamentals of dangerous arts, humans also tend to be fairly reckless, particularly with magic. The most prestigious professors tend to be the ones who gambled and took a substantial risk nobody else was willing to take. They are often weak with punishing similar attitudes in students, as it is thought that a healthy amount of disregard for conventional rules breeds innovation. Adherence to rules can stifle creativity; a true master knows not only what rules to follow, but when. Dangerous levels of chaos are treated appropriately, but human-run law enforcement is sometimes criticized for being too lax on potential dangers simply because they have not graduated to true danger yet. The human disposition towards reckless stimulation of their natural curiosity is at odds with the general rigidness of the Alamo Empire, which has influenced many of their societies for generations. However, imperial structure can be seen even at the most basic levels of human society; schools are divided into tiers based on the students' proficiency in their chosen path much like military rankings. Humans generally do not believe in "skipping" tiers, as a student can prove to their professor by surpassing them that they are ready to move on. Citizens of human societies are also often expected to set aside their differences and work together due to imperial influence, even if they might rarely do so in practice at the highest levels of skill. Collaborative projects between masters of different disciplines tend to make the headlines in human societies -- not only because it may herald new discoveries, but because the natural competition within human society makes it difficult for "opposed" disciplines to work together when they could instead work alone and accomplish something similar. Racial Traits (D&D 3.5e/Pathfinder) Overview Humans are a Medium race and have no bonuses or penalties associated with their size. Human characters may choose either +2 Intelligence and -2 Wisdom or +2 Constitution and -2 Charisma to be applied to their starting statistics. The humans' academic approach to magic is often how they confront other problems in their lives, even if they do not use magic themselves, though their senses can be more dull than those of other races. That said, humans are often some of the most enduring and capable of perservering when others would have given up in exhaustion, sometimes shirking social obligations or conventions in the name of accomplishing a goal. Arcane Affinity (Ex) Flavor Although a given human might practice any type of magic, or no magic at all, it is undeniable that human society is saturated with the arcane. Spells may manipulate Chrono from the caster or the surrounding area, but humans can draw on their own reserves of magical energy even without a spell in limited bursts, typically representing a particular school of magic that they best understand or that they have been greatly exposed to in the past. Mechanics At character level 1st, a human chooses one of the following sub-abilities. Once made, this choice cannot be changed. 'Evocation' Once per day as an immediate action, the human may add 1d6 fire, cold, acid, or electricity damage to any damage roll they make. If they are already dealing damage of that same energy type, they add 2d6 damage instead. : Keywords: Active, daily, extraordinary ability, immediate action 'Transmutation' Once per day as a swift action, the human may sustain temporary ability damage of -2 to an ability score of their choosing and gain a temporary inherent bonus of +2 to another ability score of their choosing for 1d4+1 rounds. They gain all benefits of the increased score and penalties of the decreased score, except for those that would impact how many skill points they have. During this time, the ability damage cannot be healed. Their ability scores return to normal at the end of the effect. : Keywords: Active, daily, extraordinary ability, swift action 'Conjuration' Once per day as a move action, the human may move through a space even if it is occupied without provoking an attack of opportunity or being impeded by any terrain effects. When using this ability, the human may move up to half their base movement speed. The human may choose where they move to, but they may not move into an occupied space. This ability does not prevent the human from full attacking, but they may not take any other movement actions, including a five-foot step, in the same turn they use this ability. : Keywords: Active, daily, extraordinary ability, move action 'Enchantment' Once per day as part of a standard action, the human may fascinate one enemy, forcing them to take a -4 penalty on reaction-based skills and abilities, such as Perception or Reflex saving throws, and to take no actions but watch the human for 1d4+1 rounds. The saving throw to resist this ability is Will and has a DC of 11+the human's character level. Potential threats, such as hostile creatures approaching or being aware of nearby combat, give the creature a new saving throw against the effect to end it immediately. Any obviously threatening actions taken against the creature automatically break the fascination, even if the action is part of the standard action that fascinated the creature to begin with. This is a mind-altering effect. : Keywords: Active, daily, extraordinary ability, standard action, part of action 'Illusion' Once per day as a standard action, the human may give themselves the illusionary appearance of being calm even as they do something else. This illusion lasts for 1d4+1 rounds. While active, the human appears to be standing perfectly still wherever they are currently located, and they do not provoke attacks of opportunity from any actions they take during their turn. Enemies are also considered flat-footed against the human for the duration. The saving throw to disbelieve this illusion is Will and has a DC of 11+the human's character level. If the saving throw is successful, that creature may receive attacks of opportunity against the human as normal and is not considered flat-footed against the human. : Keywords: Active, daily, extraordinary ability, standard action 'Abjuration' Once per day as a move action, the human may create a 10ft arcane ward centered on themselves that lasts for 1d4+1 rounds. While active, this ward grants the human and all allies within the ward a +1 deflection bonus to Armor Class and a +1 competence bonus to Concentration checks. These bonuses increase by +1 at character level 5, then by another +1 every five character levels to a maximum of +5 at character level 20. : Keywords: Active, daily, extraordinary ability, move action 'Divination' Once per day as an immediate action, the human may give themselves advantage on a single skill check, ability check, or saving throw, rolling twice and taking the higher value. The use of this ability must be declared before rolling, and its result may not be the target of abilities, spells, or other features that allow rerolls. : Keywords: Active, daily, extraordinary ability, immediate action Magic Scholar (Natural Ability) Flavor Academia is greatly valued amongst humans, and a fundamental understanding of magic is considered to be a vital part of modern education. Even those who do not practice magic themselves are expected to understand its foundational principles and recognize common spells. Without this knowledge, it is believed that a given human will be at a great disadvantage, unable to comprehend the basic building blocks of society. Mechanics Humans have a +2 racial bonus to either Knowledge (Arcana) or Knowledge (Religion). : Keywords: Passive, natural ability Persistence (Natural Ability) Flavor Humans are blessed with innate endurance, able to press on where others would falter; their bodies shrug off injuries and recover from diseases with relative speed and ease. Others may be faster, keener, or stronger than a human, but tests of stamina tend to favor humans, their incremental progress building off of gradual steps that amount to something far greater. Mechanics Humans have a +1 racial bonus to Fortitude. : Keywords: Passive, natural ability Category:Ealdremen Races